An Introduction to JO1 | Group of the Month March 2020

Hey there, idol fans! This month's featured group as suggested by someone on Twitter (thanks, I was having a bit of a brain lapse, haha) is a group that's only just making their debut this month but are already causing a bit of a stir; it's JO1! If there are any groups you'd like to see featured in future months don't hesitate to let me know but as for right now, let's get started!

JO1 are an 11-member Jpop boy group that made their debut in March 2020. The group was formed thanks to the members all being the final contestants on PRODUCE JAPAN 101, a reality competition show that aired in 2019. Due to the show being a spin-off of the South Korean television series PRODUCE 101 X, the group is also quite well-known among Kpop fans.

The performance video of "La Pa Pa Pam", one of the bonus tracks from their debut single "PROTOSTAR".

Members

Mamehara Issei

Date of Birth: 2002.05.30

Place of Birth: Okayama Prefecture

• He placed 1st overall in PRODUCE 101 JAPAN.
• He loves GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE.
• His hobby is dancing, especially to 90s hip-hop.

Tsurubo Shion

Date of Birth: 2000.12.11

Place of Birth: Shiga Prefecture

• He placed 5th in PRODUCE 101 JAPAN, and interestingly he also broke the "Produce 101 Curse". Based on all previous seasons of the show, it's been said that anyone who sits in the number 1 seat will not debut yet he has been the first to do so.
• He was formerly a trainee under FNC Entertainment and can speak basic Korean.
• He and Ruki both participated in the JUNON SUPERBOY contest in 2015. 

Kinjo Sukai

Date of Birth: 2000.05.06

Place of Birth: Osaka Prefecture

• He placed 10th in PRODUCE 101 JAPAN.
• His special skills are karate and soccer. He also enjoys movies and music.
• He said if he got into the top 11 on PRODUCE 101 JAPAN that he’d fly anywhere for the National Producers because he is the ‘sky’. This is a pun, as his name 'Sukai' sounds like the English word 'sky'.

Ohira Shosei

Date of Birth: 2000.04.13

Place of Birth: Kyoto

• He placed 4th in PRODUCE 101 JAPAN.
• He graduated from the EXPG dance school in Kyoto.
• His hobbies include watching movies, walking, editing videos, and beat making. He's also good at hand tricks. 

An Introduction to AXXX1S | Group of the Month February 2020

Hey there, idol fans! I'm back with our first featured group of 2020. Let's get started!

AXXX1S (pronounced 'axis') are a now 6-member male idol group that made their debut in 2015 under the name AMAZ (pronounced 'amaze'). In 2019 they underwent a major line-up change and thus changed their name to AXXX1S; Yuuto is the only of the original members left. Their first release as AXXX1S was the album "We Are AXXX1S".

Dance video for "Bakuretsu Hangover", the group's second single.

Members

 Matsushita Rikuto

Member Colour: Green

Date of Birth: 2001.08.12

• His special skill is playing mobile games.
• He took part in Danshi Kousei Mr. Con 2018, a kind of competition for high school-aged boys.
• His hobby is binge-watching dramas on his days off.

 Murahashi Takumi

Member Colour: Red

Date of Birth: 1998.07.21

• He's a former member of G-BOY'S, the trainee unit of G=AGE.
• He's a regular model for the fashion magazine Popteen.
• His hobbies include VOCALOID and utattemita.

 Okada Yuuki

Member Colour: Blue

Date of Birth: 1997.04.07

• His hobby is watching YouTube videos.
• His special skill is baseball.
• Has appeared in the series "Triangle kara Hajimaru Koi".

An Introduction to Fure Fure Danshi | Group of the Month June 2019

Hey there, idol fans! You may have noticed that the blog was pretty quiet over the month of May. It was a pretty busy month for me so I decided to take a bit of a break. You see, not only was it my birthday month but the blog also turned 2 years old as well! There are a few little things I've been working on that I'll hopefully be able to share with you all soon. But anyway, let's get on to talking about this month's featured group!

June's Group of the Month is none other than Fure Fure Danshi, a 5-member (formerly 6-member) male idol group who's aim is to support you. Their mission is to cheer on anyone who is doing their best and most of all they want to support the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The group made their debut in 2017 and released their first self-titled single the following year. They will be making their overseas debut at Japan Expo in Paris next month after winning this year's Tokyo Candoll -BOYS- competition.

  

The music video for "Fure Fure Danshi", the main song from the group's debut single.

Members

 

Akisawa Ibuki

Membor Colour: Green

Date of Birth: 1998.08.24

Place of Birth: Kanagawa Prefecture

• His hobbies include bike-riding and visiting secondhand clothing stores.
• His skills are breakdance and beat-boxing.
• He is Level 2 on the English Language Proficiency Test.  

Higuchi Daiki

Member Colour: Red

Date of Birth: 1997.09.22

Place of Birth: Saga Prefecture

• He is skilled at breakdancing, particularly doing headspins.
• His hobbies are using a camera and penny-boarding.
• His blood type is B.

Sanpei Kouta

Member Colour: Blue

Date of Birth: 1995.04.08

Place of Birth: Chiba Prefecture

• He enjoys watching sports and playing games.
• His special skill is calligraphy.
• His blood type is O.

An Introduction to CoLoN: | Group of the Month April 2019

Hey there, idol fans! This month's featured group is "genderless" group CoLoN:. Check out last month's group, HANDSIGN here and to be the first to know when next month's group is announced be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter. If there are any groups you'd like to see featured in future months feel free to let me to know. Anyway, let's get started!

CoLoN: (formerly Duckling-B) is a 9-member boy group under BACS Entertainment, an agency that produces underground male idol units. They're described as a "genderless" group, with their concepts and costumes often having an obvious feminine touch to them as well as their songs telling stories from a more female perspective. Unfortunately though, being an indie group their CDs currently aren't available at ordinary stores so you can only really buy them at BACS' official online store. The group was formed in 2016 but they made their debut in 2018 with the single "MagicalCoLoN:".

The music video for "Snatch Cat", the main song from the group's 3rd single.

Members

Goto Nozumu

Member Colour: Red

Date of Birth: 1998.06.20

Place of Birth: Kanagawa Prefecture 

Height: 175cm

• His hobbies include watching anime and making crafts.
• He appeared in the stage play "DamePri: Dame Ouji vs. Misemono Ouji"
• His specialties include tennis, badminton, and dance.

 Kurosawa Kengo

Date of Birth: 1998.04.03

Place of Birth: Tokyo

Height: 165cm

• He plays soccer.
• It was his birthday when I was writing this post lol.
• His blood type is O.

Ishibashi Takumi

Member Colour: Blue

Date of Birth: 1998.01.24

Place of Birth: Fukuoka Prefecture

Height: 165cm

• He's skilled at using the camera.
• His hobbies include attending film festivals and making crafts.
• He loves ball games; particularly baseball, softball, and volleyball. 

Kimura Rita

Member Colour: Light Blue

Date of Birth: 1996.09.03

Place of Birth: Yamanashi Prefecture

Height: 168cm

• He likes playing soccer.
• He loves Disney.
• He likes sweet foods.

An Introduction to HANDSIGN | Group of the Month March 2019

Hey there, idol fans! March's featured group is a rather unusual one but they have a lovely concept and they're definitely worth a look. Let's get to know "sign language dance" group HANDSIGN!

HANGSIGN is a Japanese boy group originally formed in 2005. Though the members themselves are hearing, the group is based around Deaf culture and their aim is to increase awareness of deafness and knowledge of sign language in Japan through dance. Their music videos often tell touching stories focusing on those living with deafness and their dance routines incorporate parts of Japanese Sign Language. They made their major debut in 2017 with the single "Boku ga Kimi no Mimi ni Naru".

  

The music video for "Boku ga Kimi no Mimi ni Naru" (I'll Become Your Ears).

Members

 

TATSU 

The leader and founder of the group. From Kanagawa prefecture.

An Introduction to BUZZ-ER. | Group of the Month February 2019

Hey there, idol fans! February's featured group is a somewhat underground group that has caught my attention recently and that group is BUZZ-ER.! Let's take a look at this buzzing rookie group. Sorry/not sorry for the pun.

BUZZ-ER. is a 7-member Japanese male idol group that made their debut in 2017 with the indie single "CAN U FEEL IT?". The group is produced by solo artist KEN. and they seem to already have relationships with other quite significant boy groups (such as Da-iCE and X4), mainly due to KEN. being well-connected in the industry. The group's name was chosen because they wanted to create a "buzz" in the world of Jpop.

 "Waltz", the first music video the group released.

Members

 

 

HAU

Date of Birth: 1997.11.14

• He is actually fully Vietnamese.
• He's a former member of G-EYE, a sub-unit of G=AGE.
• Very precious and loves all the members dearly.

KOHEY

Date of Birth: 1996.07.19

• He is a former member of Team Dot (KEN.'s backup dancers).
• He is also a model.
• It has actually been hinted at by members of the group as well as KEN. that's he's bisexual but it's never been officially confirmed.

SHUN

Date of Birth: 1996.04.18

• One of the main vocalists within the group.
• He loves fashion and wants to be a model.
• Loves food and likes to try all different kinds of exotic foods.

An Introduction to INTERSECTION | Group of the Month January 2019

Hey there, idol fans and welcome to our first Group of the Month post of 2019! Since a large part of what this blog's about is bridging the gap between the Japanese entertainment industry and international fans, I thought INTERSECTION would be a great group to start off this new year with. I'm planning for the whole of January to be a bit of a foreign idol-themed month actually, but we'll see how that goes. I'm very excited for this coming year as I have a lot of ideas about how I want to expand Dansei Idol Girl so I hope you'll all stick around for the ride. But anyway, let's start getting to know our featured group for this month, INTERSECTION!

INTERSECTION is a 4-member boy group that was formed in 2015 but made their major debut in 2018 with the single "Heart of Gold". All of the members are of Japanese-American descent and they primarly sing in English. They are the first and currently only group under a subsidiary of Avex called The Whole Earth Connection, and the group's aim seems to be the encouragement of diversity in Japan.

Starting Over, the frst music video that the group released.

Members

 

Mika Hashizume

Date of Birth: 1998.12.21

Place of Birth: Hawaii 

• The leader and oldest member.
• He was born in Hawaii and lived there until the age of 16. 
• Has a background in both sports and music. He initially dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player.

Kazuma Mitchell

Date of Birth: 2000.05.15

Place of Birth: New York

• He's a model for the men's fashion magazine MEN'S NON-NO.
• He's currently attending Harvard University.
• He moved from New York to Japan when he was 8-years-old.

An Introduction to Da-iCE | Group of the Month December 2018

Hey there, idol fans! I can't believe it's December already. Or Da-iCEmber as we're calling it here on DIG (I'm sorry, haha). That's right, our featured group this month is Da-iCE! Click here to see last month's group, ANTIME and be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter to be ready for the first newsletter and Group of the Month of 2019. But anyway, let's get to getting to know Da-iCE (that was kind of a weird sentence)!

Da-iCE (pronounced 'dice') is a 5-member Jpop boy group under Avex made up of two vocalists and three dancers  (called 'performers'). They made their indie debut in 2012 with the self-titled mini album "Da-iCE". Their major debut though, was in 2014 with the single "Shout It Out". The idea behind the group's name is that each of the five members represent five sides of a dice, and the sixth side is represented by their fans.

The 'a-i' in their name ('ai' meaning 'love' in Japanese) is written in lowercase to represent the love from their fans, and fans of the group are known as a-i. They are a very well-loved group among overseas fans (and Kpop fans too), probably due to their modern-sounding songs, impressive vocal range and dance skills, and their accessibility and eagerness to gain fans outside of Japan. Their songs are available on iTunes and Spotify, and in 2016 they even performed live at an anime convention in the US.

The music video for "Hush Hush", the group's third major single.

Members

Wada Hayate

Position: Performer

Date of Birth: 1994.02.03

Hometown: Gunma Prefecture

• The baby of the group.
• Despite being the youngest he's the most experienced dancer.
• Known for being very quiet and shy.

Hanamura Souta

Position: Vocalist

Date of Birth: 1990.08.15

Hometown: Hyogo Prefecture

• Probably the member that gets bullied by the others the most.
• Known for his high yet powerful voice.
• Is nicknamed Murata but hates it, he prefers the nickname HanaSou (but no-one actually calls him that).

Ohno Yudai

Position: Vocalist

Date of Birth: 1989.04.01

Hometown: Aichi Prefecture

• He was the one who came up with the group's name and the idea behind it.
• He was previously a member of an acapella group called Fukkin Gakuen.
• He's also an actor and acted alongside fellow member Hayate in the drama "Asuko March".

(Fun extra: I find it kind of amusing that his name sounds like "oh no you die" in English)

An Introduction to ANTIME | Group of the Month November 2018

Hey there, idol fans! So you may have noticed that there was no newsletter or Group of the Month in October. I took a bit of an unscheduled break for various reasons but now I'm back and probably a bit too eager to get started again. This month our featured group is ANTIME and not only that but we'll be having a bit of a Johnny's Entertainment (or maybe ex-Johnny's) themed month here on Dansei Idol Girl so stay tuned!

Check out September's Group of the Month -- Satori Shounen Dan -- here and to be the first to know about next month's group be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter. But anyway, let's get started. It's time to get to know ANTIME (pun intended, sorry).

ANTIME is a 4-member boy group under STARBASE Records that is made solely up of former Johnny's Jr. members. They made their debut in 2017 with the indie mini album "Born Again". They are very aware of their overseas fanbase and their music can be easily found on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify. The group's name comes from the French word "intime" meaning "intimacy", symbolizing the close bond between the members and the teamwork they possess.

The music video for ANTIME's "Number One" from their debut album "VISION"

Members

FU

 

Full Name: Takahashi Fu

Date of Birth: 1998.05.08

Hometown: Saitama

• When he was in Johnny's he was quite well-known for being able to do a headspin. You can see him doing it briefly in Sexy Zone's music video for "Sexy Zone". He also breakdances and can do a backflip.
• He appeared alongside several other Johnny's Jr.'s (including fellow ANTIME member AM) and the Sexy Zone member Sato Shori in the drama "49". He also took part in the recording of the song "Watashi no Okite" as part of Chicken Basket, a one-off crossdressing unit created specially for this drama.
• His favourite foods are melon bread and curry.

U

 

Full Name: Kawaguchi Yuu

Date of Birth: 1997.03.27

Hometown: Chiba

• He's actually the only member of ANTIME I hadn't heard of when he was in Johnny's.
• His favourite musical artist is G-Dragon (Big Bang).
• His specialty is rap. 

An Introduction to Satori Shounen Dan | Group of the Month September 2018

Hey there, idol fans! Welcome to our fourth edition of Group of the Month. This month's featured group is yet another EBiDAN group, Satori Shounen Dan! If you missed it, check out last month's group -- SUPER★DRAGON -- here and to be the first to know about next month's group as well as all of the latest news in the world of Jpop boy groups be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter.

 
Satori Shounen Dan (also called SATORI BOYS CLUB or SBC) is a 3-member dance and vocal unit under EBiDAN. They made their CD debut in 2017 with the single "Help You" but they were active prior to this as an EBiDAN THE STREET (the collective name for EBiDAN artists that mainly focus on performing street lives) group. The name was chosen because all of the members are of the "Satori generation". They also have a collaboration unit with fellow EBiDAN group EBiSSH called ONE N' ONLY.

The group performing "I wanna say..." (2016)

 

 

Members

Yamashita Eiku

Member Colour: Pink

Date of Birth: 1999.12.19

Hometown: Yamanashi

Extras: 

• The lead vocalist of the group. He has a somewhat unusual voice and I like it a lot. I'd have to say he's one of my favourite vocalists in EBiDAN.
• There's something about Eiku that I just love. I don't know what it is exactly. He just has a really friendly face and seems very sweet and gentle.
• One of the reasons Eiku began his music career was because his dad was a big fan of Yazawa Eikichi, a very influencial Japanese singer. It seems this is also why he was named "Eiku".

Takao Hayato

Member Colour: Blue

Date of Birth: 1999.09.17

Hometown: Shizuoka

Extras:

• One of the dancers in the group and he occasionally raps.
• The only word I can think of to describe him really is 'yabai (crazy)', haha. He's just very energetic and funny.
• He seems to get the crowd the most fired up during their lives.

An Introduction to SUPER★DRAGON | Group of the Month August 2018

Hey there, idol fans! Welcome to our third edition of Group of the Month. This month's featured group is none other than SUPER★DRAGON! If you missed it, check out last month's group -- M!LK -- here and to be the first to know about next month's group as well as all of the latest news in the world of Jpop boy groups be sure to subscribe to the Dansei Idol Girl newsletter. Feel free to let me know in the comments any groups you'd like to be featured in upcoming months but without further ado, let's get started!

SUPER★DRAGON (also called "Supadora" for short) is a 9-member EBiDAN group that made their performance debut in 2015 with the song "Hack My Choice". Their CD debut though, wasn't until 2016 with the single "Pendulum Beat!", the title track being used as the opening song for the anime "Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V". The group was based around the concept of a fusion between rock, dubstep, and rap and influence from these genres and more can be found in their music. The group is split up into two subgroups; FIRE DRAGON which is the four oldest members and THUNDER DRAGON which is the five youngest members.

"BAD BOY", the first music video the group released.

Members

 

FIRE DRAGON

 

 

Shimura Reo

Date of Birth: January 29th 1999

Hometown: Tokyo

Extras:

• The oldest member but is very loud and likes to mess around. He often gets told off by those younger than him, haha.
• The best dancer in the group.
• Probably gets picked on the most by the other members.

Furukawa Tsuyoshi

Date of Birth: February 27th 2000

Hometown: Tokyo

Extras:

• The lead singer of the group. In the group's earlier songs he was the only one who sang any solo lines.
• He's the best singer in the group and probably one of the best singers in the whole of EBiDAN too.
• Takes performing very seriously. Sometimes his voice can sound a little strained in concerts because he's probably pushing himself a bit too hard, bless him!

Jean Kaito

Date of Birth: May 4th 2000

Hometown: Tokyo

Extras:

• The main rapper of the group. He has a very cool, bad boy kind of vibe to him.
• He's half-Turkish.
• He has a very unusual (and pretty weird if I'm honest) fashion sense. No-one really understands his fashion choices apart from him, haha.

An Introduction to M!LK | Group of the Month July 2018

Hey there, idol fans! Welcome to our second edition of Group of the Month. This month's group is another one of my personal favourites; M!LK. If you missed it, check out last month's group -- MAG!C☆PRINCE -- here. If you have any suggestions for groups you'd like to be featured in following months don't hesitate to leave a comment below. When a new Group of the Month is announced it will be sent out as part of my monthly e-mail newsletter which will also include all of the latest news in the world of Jpop boy groups, a list of the upcoming releases for the month, and plenty more exciting updates so be sure to sign up. Anyway, let's get started!

M!LK is a 5-member (unfortunately soon to be 4-member) Jpop group that is part of EBiDAN; (Ebisu Gakuen Danji-bu, or Ebisu Academy Boys Club) a division of the agency Stardust Promotion that is responsible for producing male idol groups. They are currently part of EBiDAN Next High (a selection of EBiDAN's younger groups who have the potential to eventually become like the bigger and more experienced groups such as Choutokkyuu and DISH//).

M!LK made their debut in 2015 with the single "Coffee ga Nomemasen" and the title track was used as the ending theme for the anime "Pankisu!". Though prior to this all of the members were active as part of a temporary EBiDAN 39&KiDS unit called Clash,. M!LK fans are called "Milkies".

The music video for the title track of their most recent single, "Bokura Nari Revolution"

Members:

Sano Hayato

Date of Birth: March 23rd 1998

Hometown: Aichi

Member Colour etc.: Pink/Strawberry Milk, should be in charge of being cool but is actually a joker

Extras: 

• The leader and oldest member but is actually just a huge dork.
• Known for making funny faces at the camera.
• The only member from EBiDAN OSAKA. He was actually added to the group later on to replace former member Yuuto who left EBiDAN back when they were still Clash,.

 

Yoshida Jinto

Date of Birth: December 15th 1999

Hometown: Kagoshima

Member Colour etc.: Yellow/Lemon Milk, in charge of tinkering

Extras: 

• His catchphrase is "Chesuto!" which means to do something without regrets in Kagoshima dialect.
• He has a very unique dance style.
• He's called "kime-gao Jinto" -- meaning something like "sexy/sultry-faced Jinto" -- because of the facial expressions he pulls while dancing.

Yamazaki Haruki

Date of Birth: February 15th 2000

Hometown: Osaka

Member Colour etc.: Green/Matcha Milk, in charge of cuteness

Extras:

• He's the main singer and centre of the group. Known for his high voice.
• He loves cute clothes and has an unusual fashion sense.
• He loves Sanrio characters, particularly Cinnamon.

NOTE: Unfortunately Haruki will be graduating from the group and EBiDAN as of July 31st 2018.

An Introduction to MAG!C☆PRINCE | Group of the Month June 2018

Hey there, idol fans! As of today a new "segment" will be added to this blog. This is an idea I've been toying with for a while so do let me know what you think of it. This new segment will be called Group of the Month and well, the name is pretty self-explanatory.

There are a lot -- and I mean a lot -- of Jpop boy groups out there and I've barely grazed the surface on this blog so far, so I thought this new segment would be a fun way to regularly introduce you to some new groups that you may not have heard of.

So here's how it will work: On the first Friday of every month I will have chosen a group and I will publish a brief post to introduce you to this group. The chosen group will also do a little "takeover" of the blog and my social media sites. Every time a new Group of the Month post is uploaded it will be sent out as part of the monthly e-mail newsletter so if you want those alerts don't forget to sign up!

If there are any groups you'd really like to see me cover -- either so you can learn more about them yourself or so you can make more potential fans aware of them -- feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments. This series will definitely be a lot more fun if it isn't just about groups that I'm personally a big fan of already!


Anyway, let's get started with this month's group! For our first ever edition of Group of the Month, I've chosen one of my personal favourite groups; MAG!C☆PRINCE.

MAG!C☆PRINCE (also called Magipri or Majipuri for short) is a 5-member male idol group from Watanabe Entertainment. All of the members were born and raised in the Tokai Region of Japan and were chosen via an audition. They made their debut in December 2015 with the single "Zettai☆Aishiteru". Magipri's fans are referred to as "CHEERS". They have two "younger brother" groups called Nine Stars (debuted January 2018) and Tokai School Boys (who are still in the audition stage).

The music video for "Zettai☆Aishiteru", MAG!C☆PRINCE's debut song

The meaning of MAG!C☆PRINCE's name is:
M – Mie
A – Aichi
G – Gifu
! – To give you energy
C – To cheer you on
☆ – Mie, Aichi, and Gifu boys aim to be stars
PRINCE – Handsome boys you’d want to be your son
   

Members:

Nishioka Kengo

Member Colour: Pink

Date of Birth: 22nd October 1997

Hometown: Aichi

Extras:

• He's a total idol fanboy; it was the reason he became an idol himself. He particularly likes Sato Shori from the group Sexy Zone.
•  He's often mistaken for a girl. Even during his audition for the group the staff weren't completely convinced he was male.
•  Kind of a tsundere. He can be a bit cold to the other members but cares about them all deep down. 

Abe Shuhei

Member Colour: Green

Date of Birth: 22nd October 1997

Hometown: Aichi

Extras:

• He shares a birthday with fellow member, Kengo. The two are also best friends.
• He decided to audition for Magipri when he saw the advertisement in a newspaper. His parents' love of the entertainment world was one of his main influences.
• The other members (especially Kengo) initially mistook him for a stuck-up rich kid since he always appeared calm and composed and spoke very politely, but he was eventually able to show his real self; a huge dork who likes to mess around with the other members and make everyone laugh.